Page 2 - Physical Look - Hardware and Software
Similar to the Patriot Viper V360 I reviewed back in 2015, the Patriot Viper V380 has some similar elements, which is not too surprising. For example, we still have the angular earcups. Its gaming aesthetics are emphasized from the entire exterior, with the side cups having large metal mesh grilles, as well as some translucent areas for lighting. Each side emblazons the Viper brand to further emphasize this gaming focus. Two things that differ from the V360 are the headset design and the materials used. Rather than the suspended headband, we have a more standard headband with extending arms where the ears sit. This gives the V380 a bit more of a HyperX look. Even so, this gaming headset is decidedly more for the gamer than the professional. As for the materials, we have the standard PU leather on both the earcups and the headband, as well as a sturdy aluminum alloy metal for the ear cup arms.
On the left side, we have a braided cable with a USB plug on its end. This is a computer gaming headset, so this is not too surprising. The USB is gold plated, though this should not really affect the data transmission. Otherwise, the braided cable is a bit stiff and can catch along table edges. It does measure 2.2m in length, which is pretty good for a gaming headset.
As for the two ear cups on the Patriot Viper V380, you can get a closer look at the angular design. Under the protein leather, we have a thick amount of memory foam which is quite comfortable. Even though the outer edge is made up of straight lines and corners, the interior ear is shaped like an elongated oval. Patriot says this over-sized design should make this headset better for comfort and I frankly would agree with this thought. On the downside, it does add a bit more bulk here too. There is a thing mesh lining inside to ensure your ears do not make contact with the plastic under it. As for the drivers inside the Patriot Viper V380, we have a pair of 53mm drivers. They feature a frequency response of 20Hz to 20kHz, covering the audible frequency spectrum for humans. The rated impedance of this unit is 64 ohms with a sensitivity of 106dB. Otherwise, the ears sit on two hinges that allow them to tilt about. They do not swivel or rotate, though I did not find an issue adjusting this headset to my head.
At the top of the headset, we have the same protein leather headband with a black stitched edge. Inside this headband cushion is a thick amount of memory foam, similar to what is used on the ears. I really have to commend Patriot on providing quite the amount of foam for a comfortable fit. The outer edge is imprinted with another Viper tag for more branding in case you forgot who made your headset. Down the side is where you will see the notched extending arms with an internal metal band to secure the headset. I am glad to see a visual indicator in terms of the extending arms, as you can remember how much to extend the headset to sit on your head. As for how far the headset expands out, I have a big head but the Patriot Viper V380 easily fit over my ears when fully extended.
In terms of overall comfort, I have to give full marks to the Patriot Viper V380. They put in a sufficient amount of memory foam to keep this gaming headset comfortable. Its clamping pressure is not too great or too little and the headset is secure enough, unless you start moving quite a bit. I did not experience much in terms of fatigue while wearing this headset. Furthermore, it feels quite a bit lighter than it looks, with a measured mass of 310g. This may not seem like a small number but it still feels light for longer gaming sessions.
In addition to the cable, the left ear cup has a few other inputs and buttons to adjust the headset. Starting from the left, we have the detachable microphone on the Patriot Viper V380. It plugs in via a 2.5mm jack with a notch to secure it from turning about. The microphone is mounted on a bendy arm that does not stay in place very well. Instead, it would often go limp under its own weight. The microphone itself has a frequency response of 100Hz to 10kHz. Patriot also specifies we have a noise-cancellation microphone, but this is implemented with the software, as we will see shortly.
Moving on, there are two buttons behind the protruding cable of the Patriot Viper V380. The first one is marked "LED" and it controls the lighting displayed on the outside of the headset. This cycles through multiple colors and the rainbow wave, as well as letting users turn it off completely. Behind this button is a microphone mute switch that mutes the microphone. I should note this mute only works when the Patriot Viper software is installed and running, which is disappointing. I think Patriot should implement a hardware solution for their mute rather than depending on a utility that not everyone may install. Finally, we have a dial on the back that is used for quick volume adjustments. It offers enough resistance and is out of the way so that users will not accidentally increase the volume when adjusting their headset.
Patriot heavily advertises their downloadable Viper V380 software on their retail box and in their marketing material. The utility is a 34.8MB zip file that can then be installed. From the single page, you can see we have different settings for adjustments with three categories: Speakers, Mic, and LED. Under Speakers, we have a custom equalizer setting, Xear Voice Clarity, and Xear 3D. The Xear Voice Clarity is meant to adjust the speaker so that you can hear voices easier, which is good for group chatting circumstances. The Xear 3D is where you can activate the virtual 7.1 surround effect. Under Mic, we have Xear ENC and Xear Magic Voice. These two let you activate the noise cancellation on the microphone as well as modulate your voice to add different effects. Finally, under LED we have Lighting, which is pretty self-explanatory.
We did end up getting updated drivers and software during our review that fixed several of our issues we found initially, but I still think Patriot can improve on their utility. While I was able to get these settings working, they only stayed applied when the software was running. Once you closed the software in the taskbar, the Viper V380 would lose access to several features like the noise cancellation on the microphone, aforementioned mute, or surround sound. You could argue the software is not necessary for the strict functioning of using the Viper V380 headset. However, this chops out some notable features that were advertised with the Viper V380. I would have rather seen some sort of built-in memory so the headset will keep the last configured settings.
Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. Physical Look - Hardware and Software
3. Subjective Audio Analysis
4. Conclusion
